


A Sure Death at Dawn

by misura



Category: Tales of the High Court - Megan Derr
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-04
Updated: 2018-12-04
Packaged: 2019-09-13 01:30:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 937
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16883046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/misura/pseuds/misura
Summary: Rene very much does not look forward to explaining things to his brother.





	A Sure Death at Dawn

**Author's Note:**

  * For [finkpishnets](https://archiveofourown.org/users/finkpishnets/gifts).



_Lesto is going to kill me._

Rene knew that this was a serious problem, requiring serious contemplation. Sarrica - well, Sarrica would get over it. He hadn't seemed to care much for the idea of marrying Allen in the first place, and while he had come to rescue the both of them personally, Rene knew that might well have been a matter of pride more than anything else.

If - no, _when_ he told Sarrica that he loved Allen and wanted to marry him, Sarrica would probably be relieved. He might even smile.

Rene had no illusion that his brother was going to do the same.

 _Lesto is_ absolutely _going to kill me._

Rene could almost hear Lesto scream at him already: years of preparation, wasted. Mountains of paperwork, still there and unlikely to be dealt with in the near future, given Sarrica's talents, or lack thereof, in the area of administration.

'Selfish idiot' was probably going to be one of the mildest terms Lesto would throw at him. Rene knew that he _was_ being selfish. Oh, he might justify his actions by pointing to Allen's discovery of the traitor, based on a handful of raisins (raisins!) and arguing the advantages of the Three-headed Dragons gaining permanent access to such a valuable asset, but -

 _You don't want him because he's a 'valuable asset'. You want him because he has a nice ass._ Though 'nice' was rather an understatement.

They'd been careful, of course, these past days, with both of them still recovering from their injuries. Rene being unable to use one of his hands and Allen needing to keep the wounds on his back from opening up again had caused them to try some positions that Rene thought they might not have tried otherwise.

Probably, it was a good thing neither of them much cared about being on top (or _not_ being on top). They both simply wanted someone to hold, someone familiar. Someone in whose company they could forget everything that had happened - and, in Rene's case, everything that was going to happen.

Tomorrow morning, he was going to go to the palace. He'd talk to Sarrica first. Maybe, if he was lucky, Sarrica would volunteer to tell Lesto.

 _And maybe pigs will fly._ Still, it was a nice thought. Perhaps he should bring it up, point out that since Sarrica hadn't wanted to marry Allen anyway, he owed Rene a favor for making that impossible. Viewed like that, Rene really _was_ doing Sarrica a favor, rather than, say, stealing his fiance after putting said fiance in mortal danger by taking him along on a dangerous mission.

_Right. Keep dreaming._

Rene still regretted that mission. It didn't matter what Allen or anyone else said: he had been in command. The deaths of his soldiers and Allen's injuries - they were his responsibility. His fault.

It didn't help that all Rene had come away with was an injured hand and perhaps a few new scars. His hand would recover. Already, he felt it grow stronger with every day that passed. Soon enough he would be able to hold a sword again and go back to the training grounds.

He'd be smart, he promised himself. He'd take it easy for a while.

Rene also knew that sooner or later, there would be another mission. High-risk, high-reward, because that was how these things worked. He'd take Allen, because _not_ taking Allen wouldn't be fair to the other soldiers. This time, Rene swore, he would keep Allen safe.

Pantheon willing, he'd be able to keep that oath.

Pantheon willing, he'd survive long enough for that oath to actually matter.

Happily, most of the Three-headed Dragons' jobs were routine. Guarding a shipment of goods, rooting out a nest of bandits, baby-sitting a paranoid noble - that sort of thing. Rene wouldn't feel any particular anxiety taking Allen along with him on any of _those_. As long as Allen stayed well clear of any fighting, he'd be fine. He'd be safe.

Not as safe as he would have been in the palace, of course. Rene had no intention of leaving Allen behind, though. That wouldn't be much of a marriage, with him always away with the Dragons and Allen staying behind, waiting for his return.

Rene sighed. He had spent a lot of time resigned to being alone, to his work coming first, and then suddenly there had been Allen and he couldn't imagine going back to leading such an empty, lonely life. He wanted someone to share it with him, someone smart and funny and brave and beautiful.

He wanted Allen and, by some miracle, Allen wanted him back.

"Is your hand bothering you again?" Allen mumbled, snuggling a little closer.

"Not at all." Rene assured himself it wasn't a lie. It bothered him that his hand wasn't healing more quickly, and whenever he thought about it, like now, it itched like crazy. Itching wasn't the same as bothering, though. "I was just thinking."

"About what?"

No need to ask what _Allen_ was thinking about, the way his hands were moving. Rene wondered if Allen, too, wasn't looking forwards to some of the conversations in their future.

It was hard to imagine anyone yelling at Allen and accomplishing anything other than getting themselves expertly and verbally skewered, though. Allen was not the sort of person people yelled at.

"Nothing important." Rene said. He had thought their activities earlier tonight had left him exhausted, but his body seemed willing enough to go another round.

_Besides, if Lesto is going to kill me anyway, I might as well make the most of what time I have left._


End file.
